Men’s weight loss secret? Their wives!

THEY say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.

But the way to help a man lose weight is for a woman to do the shopping and cooking, say researchers.

They found men who are trying to lose weight are reliant on their female partners helping them.

Scottish men taking part in a diet and exercise programme were asked about the influence of their wives or girlfriends in helping them stick to the plan.

Those who were in relationships in which they had been having their meals cooked for them for years – generally men in their sixties – said their partners’ support had been invaluable when it came to buying and preparing healthy meals.

But even those who were more skilled in the kitchen admitted it helped when their partner supported their efforts to shed the pounds.

The scientists, from the universities of Aberdeen and Glasgow, interviewed 20 men who lived with their partners and were aged between 3070. A total of 14 lost 5 per cent of their body weight or more by following the Football Fans in Training Programme, which teaches healthy habits to men via football clubs.

Seven admitted they were reliant on their partners to shop and cook, while nine were more independent and the remainder did not complete the programme.

Those who were reliant were mostly over the age of 60.

Dr Sheela Tripathee, of the University of Aberdeen’s Institute of Applied Health Sciences, said: ‘Men’s attempts to make changes to dietary practices and physical activity were influenced by both partner involvement and reliance on partners.’

Dr Helen Sweeting, from the University of Glasgow’s Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, said: ‘This is the first study of its kind and suggests that whether or not someone is living with a partner should be considered as a factor when thinking about how to implement health interventions.’

The findings are published in the medical journal BMC Public Health.

The research was funded by the Medical Research Council.

‘Reliance on partners’